National News

The smell of burning sage filled the banquet hall of an Edmonton hotel Wednesday as Indigenous elders, youth and women wearing colourful ribbon skirts listened to presenters at the first National Gathering on Unmarked Burials.

Reports from two days of sessions included information about archives, search technology and protecting burial sites.

Indigenous community members, federal ministers, and Catholic Church representatives responded to the reports with potential next steps.

The Manitoba government plans to make millions of menstrual products available for free at schools, women's shelters and resource centres across the province.

The Progressive Conservative government has reached a deal with Shoppers Drug Mart, which will see the pharmacy chain supply 3.3 million tampons and pads each year for three years.

Shoppers struck a similar deal with the Ontario government last year, although the Manitoba supply is higher per capita. Financial details of the deal with Manitoba were not immediately available.

The Manitoba government is planning to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for a second year while discussions continue about making it an official statutory holiday. 

The province says in a news release that non-essential government services and offices are to close on Sept. 30, also known as Orange Shirt Day. 

Schools in the province will also be closed for the day.

The government is encouraging all licensed early learning and childcare facilities to remain open as essential services supporting families. 

Bernadette Christie has had a front-row view of some of the biggest royal events of the last decade.

She has seen Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle walk into the church on their wedding days, watched Queen Elizabeth pass by in a golden carriage and met Prince William. Now, the 68-year-old from Grande Prairie, Alta., is camping in a tent for five nights in London to ensure she has the best spot outside Monday's funeral.

“I want a front-row seat, or else there's no point in putting all this effort in,” she said.

Canada is sending a handful of celebrities alongside its official delegation to the queen's state funeral Monday in London, England.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and their spouses are leading the delegation, which departs Friday, though it's unclear whether all guests will travel on the same aircraft.

The group will include former governors general Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston as well as former prime ministers Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.

The tacit debate over the legacy of the Crown and Canada's future relationship with the monarchy began Thursday in the House of Commons as members of Parliament paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reminded the House of the enduring importance of the Crown as politicians of all political stripes rose in tribute to the queen during a special sitting of the House in recognition of her death last week.

The piercing yellow eyes and deadly hunting skills of the snowy owl awe bird-lovers in the U.S. Midwest every winter. 

Now, thanks to what has been heralded as the most comprehensive summary of migration patterns ever assembled, those birders can see where those raptors migrated from: the Seal River watershed in northern Manitoba.

The RCMP says a special unit dedicated to apprehending fugitives was not actively searching for a Saskatchewan man they believe to be responsible for a stabbing rampage that left 11 people dead and 18 others injured.

Myles Sanderson is the main suspect in the attacks in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., which prompted a four-day manhunt last week.

He was arrested on a rural stretch of highway last Wednesday, after which police say he went into "medical distress" and died in their custody. 

Members of Parliament of all political stripes are expected to rise in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth today during a special sitting of the House of Commons. 

The House Speaker is recalling MPs from their summer break early to commemorate the queen and her 70-year reign after she died last week. 

Pierre Poilievre is set to address the legislature as leader of the Conservative party for the first time, across the aisle from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is slated to kick off the speeches.

A new academic analysis has identified at least 75 foreign digital operations of a malicious political or industrial nature directed at Canada since 2010 – from attempts to steal COVID-19-related research to the targeting of Uyghur human rights activists.

The report by researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal’s Observatoire des conflits multidimensionals found cyberespionage accounted for more than half of these episodes.